Archaeologists searching for a “lost” medieval village on the estate in Northamptonshire where Princess Diana grew up may have discovered something far older, more mysterious and completely unexpected.
Pieces of worked sea shell, originally thought to date from the Middle Ages, have been carbon dated to more than 40,000 years ago. This startling discovery raises the possibility that the Althorp estate’s first occupants were not members of the aristocracy but Neanderthals.
The late princess’s brother Charles Spencer hoped that the dig would uncover the site of “Olletorp” a medieval village that was abandoned in the 14th century when its population was decimated by the Black Death. The village was believed by Earl Spencer’s father to lie about 1,000 yards west of Althorp House, one of England’s grandest stately homes, which was built in 1688.
Althorp, the Spencer family seat since 1508 and the childhood home of Princess Diana, has been subject to a year-long process of surveying and recording by a team from Oxford’s Institute for Digital Archaeology (IDA).
Olletrop was recorded in the Domesday Book, the great survey conducted by William the Conqueror, but seems to have disappeared by the time wool-magnate John Spencer purchased the estate that has been occupied by his family ever since.
The IDA team dug test pits and trenches, mapped the area using ground penetrating radar and took more than 100 core samples from the 1.5-acre site. Work has been suspended recently to allow a BBC film crew to document the ongoing excavation.
Roger Michel, the IDA’s executive director, said they have uncovered evidence of a settlement that dates back to the Paleolithic. Initial results from carbon dating fragments of decorated sea shell recovered from the trench show they are at least 40,000 years old, making it one of the earliest settlements yet discovered and possibly the home to Neanderthals who occupied Britain for hundreds of thousands of years before modern humans arrived.
Mr Michel said: “We don’t think the shells would have been the remnants of a prehistoric meal as Althorp was even further from the sea then than it is today. They are also incised. They could have been used for decoration or as spurs of mother of pearl for jewellery.”
The shells were discovered in a midden – a polite name for a rubbish tip – which also contained numerous small pieces of worked antler and flints which are evidence of tool making on the site.
Scientists have long known that early Neanderthals were present in Britain from around 400,000 years ago. The archaeological record indicates that they returned to Britain many times between then and 30,000 to 50,000 years ago as glaciers alternately advanced and receded between ice ages.
Around 40,000 years ago, the first modern humans began to reach Britain, putting the Althorp discovery on the cusp of two worlds.
Mr Michel, who was a classmate of Earl Spencer’s at Oxford University, said: “We still hope to find Olletorp for Charles. Our geophysical surveys of the site reveal many areas of interest that merit further exploration. Althorp may very well tell the entire story of the settlement of Britain from the time of the earliest human habitations straight through to the HS2 that will pass not far from the estate.”
If the IDA’s findings are verified it will not be the first successful archaeological venture with Earl Spencer.
The Earl, author of the best selling history of the White Ship, was present when a marine archaeology team from the IDA found a wreck close to the spot where she is believed to have sunk in 1120. William Adelin, the heir to the English throne, was among the 300 members of the Anglo-Norman aristocracy who drowned. The sinking touched off 60 years of civil war in England.
Mr Michel remarked: “Charles has been very good luck for us.
“On a more practical note, his chef, James, makes the best sausage rolls in Britain. We came for the archaeology, but stayed for the sausage.”